The Good News? It's Easy to Obtain a Public Performance License?Obtaining a public performance license is relatively easy and usually requires no more than a phone call. Fees are determined by such factors as the number of times a particular movie is going to be shown, how large the audience will be and so forth. While fees vary, they are generally inexpensive for smaller audiences. Most licensing fees are based on a particular performance or set of performances for specified films. The major firms that handle these licenses include:

I have had LOTS of experience with this, guys. I'm not guessing- I know what I'm talking about here.

First of all, yes, this is "public", per the rules governing this. Private viewing is essentially limited to your private residence- and there are conditions under which even that can become an issue.

Swank is the source for major pictures- basically, anything anyone really wants to see. Expect to pay a minimum of $500 (as of 7 years ago or so) and upwards of $800 for really popular titles. Age doesn't matter, popularity does. Older popular titles can cost more than new releases that aren't so popular.

Criterion has more independent films, and they're cheaper, but still $200-$300 for a license to show it once or twice.

Don't know about the third group- they weren't around when I was last doing this.

metis wrote:seriously though there are a LOT of movies that have hit public domain and are worth viewing. no issues in showing them.

I'm not sure why the sudden fixation on showing movies developed- I for one have better things to do with the limited time I'll be able to spend at the shop than watch a movie- and in general, there are more valuable things we can do with the shop time, space, and noise budgets* than screen films.

As we were discussing this at CR the other night, a couple of really good ideas were brought up:

1. TED talk screenings- If you haven't checked out TED, do. Hundreds of 15-25 minutes mini-lectures on diverse topics ranging from nuclear physics to life as an amputee model/athlete. If someone comes across a good TED lecture, a screening and discussion group could be a decent monthly event to host.2. MIT open courseware- MIT offers some course content online, including complete syllabi and recorded lectures. Pick one, screen a lecture once or twice a week.

*While I realize that watching a movie doesn't preclude other activities, I'm guessing it will be done in the classroom/"clean" workspace, which will increase the general noise level in there, along with turning workspace into audience space. Also, projectors have a limited lifespan and habitually burning hours of that life on movies may not be a good investment.

uptownmaker wrote:I for one have better things to do with the limited time I'll be able to spend at the shop than watch a movie- and in general, there are more valuable things we can do with the shop time, space, and noise budgets* than screen films.

mrebersv wrote:I agree. It'd be pretty annoying if I'm trying to run a table saw in a MAKER space, but can't because 10 people are trying to watch Mona Lisa Smi...ugh...Terminator 2.

THAT got a big chuckle out of me- I'd run the saw anyway.

BUT, and this is a serious consideration, we need to think about low/no noise hours/times/events. For instance, in the background of the video Wayne posted about hackerspaces and the law, which was filmed at Noisebridge, someone was running a tool in the background during a portion of it (at least the first 20-25 minutes, maybe longer). It was disturbing, distracting, and disrespectful to the PROFESSIONAL that they invited into their space to give a presentation.

While I don't think I'd be willing to suspend noisy activities to humor a lan party or a movie night, I would expect that, under some circumstances, our members should expect for some tools to be off-limits for certain well- and pre-publicized times:- a formal class is going on.- a presentation is being given to an audience, especially by an invited guest.- a business meeting is being conducted.

I wouldn't anticipate more than a couple of hours of this sort of event per week, but we should have a standard rule of respect and courtesy for them.